Water-softening apparatus.



G. H. UECKE.

WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS.

APPLlcATloN FILED MAR.2I.1917.

Il @559359., Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET W! 7754555.55 /IV VEN TQ@ G. H UECKE. WATER SOFTENINGAPPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2l. IQIT.

Patented Feb. 5, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- /ll/ /f//f /f/l//I/l /f//H//l/f/ l//l//f/ GEORGE H.UECKE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

WATER-SOFTENING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented livelli. 5, 1191.,

Original application filed February 19, 1917, Serial No. 149,391.Divided and this application tiled March v 21, 1917. Serial No. 156,306.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it` known that l, GEORGE ll. Unonn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, inthe county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Water-Softening Apparatus; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved apparatus for usein softening water, and is especially designed for carrying out theimproved process of softening water disclosed and claimed in a companionapplication filed by me dated February 19th, 1917, S. Nfl/19,391, andentitled Process of softening water.

lt isl a well known fact, that hard water may be softened by passing thesame through a material known as zeolite. 'lhis material, as a base,contains sodium, and the water -is softened thereby without renderingthe same caustic. This zeolite, in the aboveehemieal action, suppliessodium which is left in the softened water in an amount chemicallyequivalent to the calcium and magnesium removed from the original crudeor hard water. y

The zeolite, from time to time, is regenerated or restored to normalcondition and strength by passing therethrough, a solution of sodiumehlorid or common salt, and may be thus repeatedly regenerated or utback into condition for repeated softemng actions on thewater passedtherethrough.

t The preferred form Vof the apparatus is. -1llustrated in theaccompanying drawings,

wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the severalviews. Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the a paratus, some parts being brokenaway an some parts being sectioned;' and y Fig. 2 is a section on theline 2-2 of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away and some parts beingsectioned.

The apparatus, as preferably described, actsl both as a filter and asa'water softener, and the receptacle in which these actions take placeis preferably, and as shown, in the form of a large upright metalso-called filtering tank 3 closed at both ends and made fluid tight.rlhe zeolite, which is a granular or finely divided material, and whichis indicated by the character y', in the drawings, is contained in thelower portion of the tank 3- and is supported above the bottom thereofby a line meshed partition or false bottom 4:. llhis zeolite is placedin the lower portion of the tank and, preferably considerably less thanhalf fills the same. llmmediately on the upper surface of the partition4, a layer of gravel y1 is preferably placed at the bottom of a body ofzeolite y. y

The filtering material y2, which may be marble chips, is contained inthe upper portion of the tank 3 and Vis supported on a perforatedhorizontal partition 5. lhe wa ter to be filtered is supplied to thetank through a supply pipe 6 which may be as sinned to be connected tocitywater under pressure. As shown, awater meter 7 is interposed in saidsupply pipe. ln the form of the apparatus illustrated in the drawings,this supply pipe 6 is connected to a'lLl-shaped tube or pipe 8, theupper prong of which is connected to the upper portion of the tank 3 bya pipe 9. the U-tube 8 is also connected to a back motion drain pipe 10,that discharges to a pit or sewer connection 11 or elsewhere. rrllhelower prong of the said tube 8 is connected to the'bottom of the tank 3by a pipe 12. The lower portion of this pipe 12 has a rejecting drain 13normally closed by a va ve 14. ln the U-tube or pipe 8 are four valves,15, 16, 17 and 18, which perform functions to be hereinafter described.l'l`he c asing of the valve 18 is connected to a p1 e 19 through whichthe softened water is elivered from the tank. llmrnediately overlyingthe upper surface of the bodyof -zeolite y, is the upper eX- -tremity ofa so-ealled Siphon tube or drawofl pipe 20. The inner end of the saidpipe 20 is preferably made in the form.. of an annular tube 21 that isperforated at its un der surface, and the pipe 2U has a normally closedvalve 22. 'lhe lower end of the said pipe 22 is turned upward at 23 and,as shown, is arranged to discharge into the drain pit 11.

rlhe numerals 24 and 25 indicate brine rf'he said upper prong ofy theformer.

v pipe 12.

tanks, the latter of which is supported above Brine tubesor pipes 26 and27 lead, respectively, from the bObOm of the tanks 24 and 25 and areconnected by a common pipe 28 to the .upper portion of the The saidpipes 26, 27 and 28 are provided, respectively, with valves 29, 30 and31. Small pipes 32 and 33 lead, respectively, from thepipes 26.and 27from points below their valves, and these two smallpipes are connectedby a common small pipe 34 to the lower portion of the pipe 12. Saidpipes 32 and 33 are provlded with valves 35 and 36, respectively, andwithA eheckvalves 37, which permit flowfrom left to right, in respect toFig. 2, but will check reverse fiow. Pipe 34 is provided with a valve38.

The numeral 40 indicates an lair relief tube or pipe that extends fromthe top of the tank and is provided with a normally closed valve 41. Thevalve 41 will-be closed at all times except when the tank 3 is beingeither emptied or filled. Otherwise stated, pipe 40 is closed under allnormal operating conditions ofthe apparatus. 42 indicates a pressuregage applied to the tank 3.

When water is to be run through the apparatus` for the purpose ofsoftening the same,

valves 15 and 18 must be opened and all of the other valves of theapparatus must be closed; and the water will then run from supplypipe 6through portion of U-pipe 8, and through pipe t) to the top of thefiltering tank This water is fed'first downward through the filteringmaterial 1/2, and from thence, on downward through the zeolite, tothebottom of the tank,`and from thence out through pipes 12 and 19. Thefilter vtakes out the dirt or other solid foreign particles from thewater, and while it is desirable, is not in all cases an indispensablefeature.

After the zeol'lte has been exhausted or depleted to such an extent thatit needs regeneration to restore it to normal condition, it isdesirable, at least atcertain times, to back wash the -same and thefiltering material; and to accomplish this, valves 17 and 16 should beopened and all of the valves of the apparatus closed. When this is done,the water, under pressure from the supply pipe 6, will fiow throughportion of U-pipe 8 and through pipe 12'to bottom of thetank, and fromthence, will be driven up through the zeolite and through the filteringmaterial and out through pipe 9, a portion of U-pipe 8 and water-drainpipe 10. 'Valves 16 and 17 should now be closed.

The next action is to run the brine containedin the tanks 24 and 25 intothe filtering tank 3, and this isaecomplished in a new and highlyimportantmanner, tor wit,

instead of being run downward throughthe The numeral Highly importantactions result from this manner of delivering the regenerating fluidYtothe zeolite. To cause the brine to flow from' the said tanks 2t and 25into the bottom of the filteringtank 3, valves 35, 36 and 38l of pipes33, 32 and 31, respectively should be opened, and valve 22 of the siphontube 20 should be opened. In this way, both tanks 241 and l25 may besimultaneously eonnectedv to the bottom ot' the filtering tank 3; but ithas been. found in practice that. the liquid' from upper tank 25, willflow into the filtering tank before the brine will commence to flowthereinto from the lower tank. This is partly due to the greaterelevation of tank 25, but is also due to the fact. that pipes 20, 33 and3-.t have substantially the same conducting capacity. Here it may bealso stated that the brine in the upper tank will not be as strong asthe brine in the lower tank. For example, the brine in the lower tankwill usually be about ten per cent. salt solution. Each of the tanks 2tand 25 will preferably contain approximately enough brineto fill thefiltering tank to the level of the top of the Zcolite y, but the lowertanlrv'ill usually be provided with brine, a little in excess of thatjust stated.

The relatively weak brine from the upper tank will flood the zeolitc andstart the regeneration, and in fact, effect a very considerable part ofsaid regeneration by supplying the sodium thereto.. As this brine flowsgradually into the filtering tank and rises very slowly from the bottomtoward the top of the zeolite., it drives out. of the tank, through thesiphon tube 20. the water which it displaoes from between the partit-lesof the zeolite, without disturbing or moving the water in the top of thetank. At this time, of course, thesupply of water under pressure to thetop of the filtering tank is cut ofi'. Here it is important to note thatthe raised lower end of thc siphon pipe 20 is below the bottom of thelowertank 24. This is important, for otherwise, it would be inipossibleto completely drain the said lower tank. If, for example, the lower endof the. said siphon tube 23 were raised to the center of the lower tank,then it would be impossible to drain the said lower tank below thatpoint.

In the arrangement shown, the lower or discharge end of the siphon tube20 constitutes the extremity of one leg, and the top ot the upper tank25, the extremity of the other leg of the Siphon. The purpose ot turningup the lower end of the siph'on tube 20 is to form a. watertraptherefor.

The perforated head 2l of the siphon pipe 20 not only takes the brinefrom numerous points, but takes it from a level immediately lon ltlfi.liti

lli') 1,255,3b@ lltll above the zcolite, -and not from the upper part ofsaid tank. When the stronger brine from the lower tack 25 begins to runinto the bottom of the filtering tank, it will dis-- place and forceupward the initial charge of brine from the'tank 25 and cause thedevitalized portion thereof to flow out through the siphon tube 20; buthere it is important to state that the outgoingl liquid represent ingthis initial charge of brine from the upper tank 25, will not be a saltor sodium solution. 0n the contrary, it will have given up its sodium tothe zeolite and taken rom the zcolite, lime and magnesium. At first,this discharge solution will show but small trace of calcium chlorid orlime and magnesium, but it will gradually grow stronger and strongerwith these substances. and finally commence to show trace of salt orsodium chlorid. The last of the solution discharged through the siphonpipe 20 and replaced by brine from the lower tank 24, running into thefiltering tank, will be practically pure or very good brine solution,b'ut verylittle of this will be wasted by discharg'ethrough the saidsiphon pipe.

The valve 38 will be preferably set so that it will require six or eighthours for the contents of the brine tank 25 to run through and thecontents of the brine tank 24 to run into, and a little thereof, run

through the said filterin tank. When thishas been accomplished, t ezeolite will have been regenerated, but the said tank will still containthe charge of brine which must be removed therefrom before the apparatuscan be again used for softening the wat-er. The pipes 32 and 33 withtheir check valves 37 are desirable for several reasons. rlFhe pipeswhich deliver from the several brine tanks, at different elevations, tothe ltering tank 'should have check valves to revent the elevated brinetank from Hooding the lower brine tank. not be put in pipes 26 and 27,because the brine must be delivered backward from the filtering tank tothe brine tanks and check valves would p'event this flow. Moreover, thepipes which deliver the brine from the filtering tank to the brine tanksshould be much larger than those that deliver from brine tanks to vthefiltering tanks, because the first notedflow should be very rapid, ascompared with the latter noted flow. Hence, ask is obvious, the utilitof the pipes 32 and 33, with their check va ves 37, as well as the pipes26 and Il27'.

In apparatus for softening water hitherto used, the brine remaining inthe tank, after the zeolite has been regenerated, has been dischargedand wasted; but with this improved apparatus, it is saved and used overagain, by running the same back into one or the other or both of thebrine tanks, or into` some suitable receptacle, from which it may Thesecheck valves could be thereafter returned and again used on the zeolite.4 p

As an initial step to the salvage of the brine, as above stated, valves35, 36 and 38 are first closed, while valve 22 of the Siphon pipe 20 isstill open, and water supply valve 15 is'open slightly, for a very shorttime, and water `is allowedto run into the top of the filtering tank, soas to force'od' watercontained immediately above the zeolite, and which,because of the affinity of water for calcium chlorid, will absorb moreor less of the latter during the regenerating process. After thiswashing-out action has been accomplished, valve 22 is closed, valve 15is left open, and valves 29 and 31 are opened; and when this is done,the downward pressure ofthe water will force the relatively t theremainder of the brine will be delivered into the said upper brine tank25. lin practice, it has been found that the uppertank 25 will be aboutthree-fourths filled with the brine water before the water loses all buta mere trace of salt. At or about this time additional salt may be putinto the lower tank 24 to restore it to its original strength. After theabove has been accomplished, valves 30 and 31 are closed. To remove theremaining traces of salt from the water in the bottom of the filteringtank, valve 1d is open for a few moments and then again closed. rllhenwhen valve 18 is opened, the apparatus is a ain set into action and thewater delivere therethrough and, through the zeolite, will be softenedby the chemical action already noted. p 'llhe above describedarrangement whereby the regenerating fluid is forced upward rather thandownward through the zeolite, makes it ossible toy reclaim the sodium orsalt solution, which otherwise, and which hitherto has been wasted inapparatus of this general character. The sodium or salt solu tion orbrine is, of course, heavier than pure water, and will remain in a sortpf a layer below the pure water, thus rendering 1t pos vsiblel to carryout the various important steps above described. Moreover, otherimportantiactions result from this .upward delivery of the saltsolution, For instancel` under a slow rise or a rapid rise, for thatmatter, the brine will maintain a level upper surface and will evenlyregenerate all of the particles of the zeolite; whereas, un-

der a downward delivery, being heavier than pure water, will form eddlesor currents 1n the pure water with a result, as has been demonstrated inpractice, that the regeneration willnot be even throughout the body ofZeolite. This apparatus is especially designed for the softening ofwater by the use of zeolite, either natural or artificial, but iscapable of use, regardless of whether the softening material 1s, orisnot,.a substance chemically describable as zeolite. Zeolite is the onlymaterial at present known to me which can be used, but it is possiblethat there are other materials that will have the desired softeningaction on water and capable of being regenerated by the action of thebrine or other regenerating liquid.

The so-called filter y2 in the upper port-ion of the filtering tank maybe of a coarse material having for its principal purpose, to prevent anyof the particles of the zeolite from being backwashed from the tank. Thezeolite itself, acts as a filter and may be of finerinaterial than thatof the filter y?.

In the apparatusl illustrated, the so-calle'd filtering tank is a closedwater receptacle, but in some instances, it may be an open receptacle.'In fact, I contemplate a iform of the apparatus wherein the waterreceptacle will be a large reservoir, such as would be used, forexample, in a municipal filtering plant.

The discharge or lower end of the so-called drain pipe 20 should notonly terminate below the bottom of the lower brine tank, but shouldterminate above the lowest point of the pipe Q6 or connection betweenthe brine tank and the softening tank or filter, so as to preventcomplete draining of said pipe 26. If the pipe 26 were drained, airwould be admitted into the bottom of the tank 3 and, bubbling upwardtherethrough, stir up and mix-the regeneratingl iuid and pure water, andalso would let water run out from the top of the tank.

From what has` been said, it will, of course, be understood that amultiplicity of `brine tanks, while desirable, is not neces sary in allcases. The brine tanks may be located at various elevations, in respectto the tankl 3. For example, such a tank may be located higher up thanthe uppermost brine tank 25, or considerably lower than the lower brinetankQfi, and still the brine would be caused to lowqgfrom .suchbrinetank into the filtering tank 3, provided the discharge endA of pipe20 be located below the said brine tank,

The above described is the preferred manner of using the apparatus, butit is capable of use in some other slightly dierent ways. For instance,after the zeolite has been exhausted, the Water from the tank 3 will bedrained and then the brine caused to flow and rise upwardly through thesubstantially dry zeolite. To eii'ect the above action by gravity, itwould be necessary for the brine tank to be located above the uppersurface of the zeolite.

That I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a waterreceptacle containing a water softening substance, said receptaclehaving connections for the circulation of water through said softeningsubstance, of a brine tank for containing a regenerating liquid, saidtank having connections to the lower portion of said water receptaclefor-the delivery of the regenerating liquid in a rising column upwardthrough said water softening substance, and a drawof tube independent ofsaidk water circulating and brine delivery connections, leading fromsaid water receptacle and having its receiving end in the vicinity oftheupper surface of said water softening substance.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a waterreceptacle containin a water softening substance, said rcceptac e havingconnections for the circulation of water through said softeningsubstance, of a brine tank for containing a regenerating liquid, saidtank having connections to the lower portion of said water receptaclefor the delivery of the regenerating liquid in a rising column upwardthrough said water softening substance, and a drawoff tube independentof said water circulating and brine delivery connections, leading fromsaid Water receptacle and having its receiving end in the vicinity ofthe upper surface of said water softening substance, the said waterreceptacle being a closed tank and the delivery end of said drawof tubeextendingto a point below said brine tank, whereby said drawoff tubeconstitutes the relatively long leg of a siphon, when the said waterreceptacle is closed and said brine dclivery connections opened andserves as a discharge pipe, when said brine delivery connection isclosed and said water supply connection opened.

3. An apparatus of the kind described comprisin a water receptaclecontaining a water so tening substance, connectionsY to said receptaclefor the delivery of water through said softening substance, a brinetank, connections for delivery of the brine from said tank to the lowerportion of said water receptacle and vice versa, and a valved drawofftube independent of said water and brine delivery connections andoperative to control a discharge from said water receptacle either whensaid water supply connection is closed and said brine deliveryconnection open or when said brine delivery connection is closed andsaid water supply connection is open.

4. An apparatus of the kind described comprising a water receptaclecontaining a water softening substance, connections to said receptaclefor the delivery of water il U through said softening substance, a brinetank, connections for delivery of the brine from said tank to the lowerportion of said water receptacle and vice versa, and a valved drawoHtube independent of said water and brine delivery connections andoperative to control a discharge from said water receptacle either whensaid water supply connection is closed and said brine deliveryconnection open or when said brine delivery connectionis closed and saidwater supply connection is open, said brine tank being open toatmospheric pressure and the said drawo pipe having its delivery endbelow said brine tank.

5. ln an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a waterreceptacle containin a water softening substance, said re ceptac ehaving connections for the circulation of water to said softeninosubstance, 0f a brine tank open to atniospieric pressure and having avalve connection to the lower portion of said Yaier receptacle for thedelivery of brine thereto, and a valved drawod tube leading .from saidwater receptacle, said drawotf tube having its receiving end in thevicinity of the upper portion of the upper surface of said softeningmaterial and having its lower end formed with an upturned portionconstituting a water` seal but delivering below said brine tank.

G. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a waterreceptacle containing a water softening substance` said receptaclehaving` connections for the circulation of water lto said softeningsubstance, of a brine tank open to atmospheric pressure and having avalve connection to the lower' portion of said water receptacle for thedelivery of brine thereto, and a valved drawotl' pipe leading from said,water receptacle, said drawotf pipe having its receiving` end in thevicinity of the upper portion of the upper surface of said softeningmaterial and having its lower end arranged to discharge at a point belowsaid brine tank, but above the lowest part of the brine deliveryconnection between said tank and water receptacle.

7. An apparatus of the kind described, comprising a water receptaclecontaining a water softening substance, a water supply connectionleading to the upper portion of said receptacle,`a water dischargeconnection leading from the lowerportion of said receptacle. a brinetank, connections for delivery of brine from said tank to the lowerportion of said water receptacle, and vice versa. and a. valveddrawoffvtube` independent of said water and brine delivery connections,having a receiving end opening from said water receptacle at a pointabove the body of said softening substance and below the said waterdelivery connection to the Lipper portion of said receptacle, thedischarge end of said drawotll tube being below said brine tank.

S. An apparatus of the kind described comprising a waterreceptaclecontaining a water softening substance, connections to saidreceptacle for the delivery of water through said softening substance, abrine tank, connections for delivery of the brine from Said tank to thelower portion of said water receptacle, and vice versa, vand a valveddrawotf tube independent of said water and brine delivery connectionsand operative to control a discharge from said water receptacle eitherwhen said water supply connection is closed and said brine deliveryconnection open or when said brine delivery connection is'closed andsaidwater supply connection is open, and a valvcd air vent open from theto of said water receptacle, said air vent being independent of saiddrawotl" tube and water and brine circulating connections.

fl. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a closedreceptacle containing a water softening substance, said receptaclehaving connections for the circulation of water through said softeningsubstance, of a plurality of brine tanks at different elevations havingconnections to the bottom of said closed water receptacle for thedelivery of the regenerating liquid in a rising column upward throughsaid softening substance.

10. ln an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a closedreceptacle containing a water softening substance, said receptaclehaving connections for the circulation of water through said softeningsubstance, of a plurality of brine tanks at different elevations havingconnections to the bottom of said closed water receptacle for thedelivery of the regenerating liquid in a rising column upward throughsaid softening substance, and a drawoff tubel leading from said tank andhaving its receiving end in the immediate vicinity of the upper surfaceof said water softening substance.

In testimony whereof l afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEGRGE H. UECKE. W'itnesses:

HARRY D. KILGoRn, F. D. MERCHANT.

